What we're watching (all times EST): PGA Northern Trust Open, second round (Golf Channel) at 3. Northern Iowa at Virginia Commonwealth (ESPN2) and Columbia at Princeton (ESPNU) in men's college basketball at 7. Dartmouth at Yale (NBCSN) in men's college hockey at 7:30. Mavericks at 76ers (ESPN) at 8. Valparaiso at Loyola Marymount (ESPNU) in men's college basketball at 9. Suns at Lakers (ESPN) at 10:30.

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Remembering Gary Carter, Part I: "On his first day in the uniform of the New York Mets, Gary Carter embraced everything around him. All that was new also was good, and Carter ran with it, pedal to the metal. Oh, how he hustled that first day of 1985 Spring Training. Against the ‘ease into it' urging of an old coach, he threw hard, ran hard and ran everywhere he needed to go. The first batting-practice pitch that disappeared over a distant fence prompted an 'All right!' from him. His uniform quickly became stained from Florida soil, though no one could figure out how he accomplished that. He signed autographs with glee, shook hands as if he were running for office. He talked to some cameras, posed for those operated by amateurs. He accommodated a multitude of microphones. He spent close to an hour with newspaper reporters." [MLB.com]

Remembering Gary Carter, Part II: "We're going to close the tour back at Shea Stadium. The Mets didn't win the third game in St. Louis and the Cardinals clinched the division a couple of days later. It was heartbreaking in a sense, yet the whole season was so full of life that the pain heals by this final stop on the last day. Here's Carter and all of his teammates taking one final curtain call. The love affair between these 1985 Mets—his Mets—and we Mets fans is so strong, so palpable, that the 98 wins they rack up…most of them in stirring fashion…only partly describe what a special bunch they are and what an extraordinary season it's been. See Gary there, right there, practically smiling his teeth out? See those arms in the air? And the way he's blocking the plate, giving no ground? And coming through so many times when it counted like you couldn't believe it counted? And drawing you into the Mets like you've never been drawn in before? You spend 162 games with the Mets in 1985, you never forget somebody like that. Never." [Faith and Fear In Flushing]

This Date In Deadspin History

As noted earlier, the punchy old man who likes to deliver beat downs on Oakland bus riders appears…
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Elsewhere

Yao on Jeremy Lin: "‘What I see from Jeremy and what I hear in his interviews is he appreciates everything. He pursues his dream. His attitude is so peaceful, but there is strength to him. It is not a violent strength like fire or something aggressive. It is like the ocean, very peaceful, very quiet when you look at it. But you can never underestimate the power that is in there.'" [NBA.com]

Cards fan's tumblr replaces El Hombre with El Gato: "Pujols turned his back on St. Louis. So I'm turning him into a cat. It's only fair." [replacealbertwithacat.tumblr.com]

Your '80s Let's Go Mets Interlude:

Tim Tebow knows he throws funny, is working on it: "UCLA football coach Jim L. Mora has noticed something a little different around the Westwood campus this week thanks to a certain high-profile NFL quarterback working out at the Bruins practice facility. 'There's a little Tebow-mania going on here on the UCLA campus,' Mora said. 'There's a few more girls hanging around the football office and the football field that there typically are.' Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is in town working out with UCLA offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Noel Mazzone and Mazzone's son, Taylor, and that has brought a tinge of Tim-sanity to UCLA this week. Tebow and Mazzone are working on mechanics and trying to get Tebow more efficient after he completed only 46.5 percent of his passes last season. Mazzone wouldn't go into specifics about what he and Tebow were working on, saying only that they were trying to improve his mechanics." [ESPN LA]

Randy Moss receives an offer: "Free agent wide receiver Randy Moss has received an offer from the Indoor Football League's Chicago Slaughter, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. ... The only word yet from an NFL team came from a source that said the Dallas Cowboys will pass on the wide receiver." [Sports Illustrated]